The heartache and emotional turmoil of infertility affects more and more couples every year. As the number of infertile couples grows, so does the intervention offered by the various health care industries. Many couples are aware of no other option other than conventional medicine and consequently have a treatment program that consists of drugs and surgery. However, in this society where health care is shifting from pain and drugs to health and wellness, countless others are calling out for a holistic, natural approach for the treatment of infertility. So what kind of solution can chiropractic offer?

Recent research reinforces that the chiropractic approach to fertility is the same approach that has encouraged so many to adopt the chiropractic lifestyle: a safe and economical alternative to traditional medicine and a focus on whole body wellness. Recent chiropractic research into fertility offers hope and encouragement to those seeking a natural option for wellness.

Infertility is defined as a couple’s inability to become pregnant after 1 year of intercourse without using birth contraception. However, it is important to note that, “normal fertility” is defined as the ability to naturally conceive within 2 year’s time. Statistics report that the infertility culprit is a combination of ovulation dysfunction, fallopian tube problems or other pelvic and hormonal problems.1

Medical management of fertility often includes medication, surgery and other invasive forms of treatment for the physical component. Although thousands of couples seek care with conventional medicine that result in pregnancy, there are concerns for the safety of the treatments that conventional medicine has to offer. Nadler writes, “These interventions can manipulate the hormonal influences on the menstrual cycle. This type of intervention directly affects the individual’s hormonal balance whether the predisposed condition is a result of physiological dysfunction or whether it is nothing more than variant.” 2

Research provided by Dr. Bedell agrees with the idea that drugs and other forms of invasive treatments have devastating side effects. Bedell writes, “The use of synthetic hormones to both prevent and promote fertility has been shown to have severe and well documented toxic side effects for women. About 10 million women in the USA use the pill at any one time but from 3-50% stop using it within a year because of undesirable side effects. About 120 risks and side effects are associated with this combination (estrogen and synthetic progestin) some of which are life threatening, including not just heart problems but cancers of the reproductive organs, breast cancer, increased risk of diabetes, asthma, thyroid imbalance, and immune dysfunction.”3 This research shows that surgical and pharmaceutical treatments involve some very frightening risks with little support for effective results.